Edo Government Recruits 500 Forest Guards, Set for Another 500 in Addition

The Edo State Government has announced the recruitment of 500 forest guards to secure the state’s forests and farmlands from kidnappers and bandits.

The state Commissioner for Public Security and Safety, Festus Ebea, disclosed this during a joint press briefing in Benin alongside the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afegbua, and the Commissioner for Transportation, Saturday Uwuilekhue.

Ebea revealed that an additional 500 personnel would soon be recruited, bringing the total number to 1,000 forest guards.

This decision follows a directive from the National Security Adviser to President Bola Tinubu.

“On Saturday, I received a call from the presidency that Edo should increase its number from 500 to 1,000, and we are implementing that soon,” Ebea stated.

The commissioner explained that the first batch of 500 recruits has already commenced intensive training at the Police Training College in Ogida Barracks.

The training began on Friday, 5th June 2026.

“Since Friday, following the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through the office of National Security Adviser, we have engaged 500 able and intelligent Edo youths who are undergoing training at Police College,” Ebea said.

“These youths when they are finished the training will be deployed to man our bushes and forest especially forest shared neighboring States where criminal activities are prevalent to make it safe.”

Ebea noted that the forest guards would be strategically deployed across forests and border communities.

Special attention will be given to forests bordering Kogi, Ondo, and Delta states.

The commissioner also highlighted that areas in Etsako East, Etsako West, and Akoko-Edo would receive heightened security attention due to the presence of significant mineral resources.

“We are also paying special attention to some local government areas, such as Akoko-Edo, where you have so much mineral deposit, and of course, Etsako East and Etsako West, where we have the Igbira camp, and the two Ovia, where we have people from the other end who use the waterways to infiltrate and take residents of the state hostage,” Ebea explained.

“Of course, every part of the state would be captured.”

The commissioner further disclosed that the state government has directed all local government chairmen to employ 300 security corps members each across the 18 local government areas.

This initiative will produce 5,400 local security corps members to strengthen grassroots security.

“The total figure will be 5,400. They must form part of the local government workforce,” Ebea stated.

“We are working to ensure that the forest guards defeat those in the bush, secure our farmers, secure the bush, and make the bush unsafe for criminals,” he added.

Ebea assured residents that the Okpebholo-led administration remains committed to making Edo State safe for living and doing business.